Jackson keeping in touch with the Irish

Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit junior standout Vincent Jackson is nearing the 30 offer mark, but he doesn't plan on narrowing his list until this summer after he takes a few more visits. Jackson discusses the chances of Notre Dame getting a visit and what position he sees himself playing in college.

Linebacker Vincent Jackson of Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit is planning on visiting Notre Dame this summer.
"A former high school assistant coach's daughter went to Notre Dame," Jackson said. "So, he is going to take me on a visit this summer, most likely. I am supposed to call him back about details pretty soon."
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound linebacker keeps in touch with the Irish, and he says like a lot of schools, they've changed up how they are recruiting him.
"I talk to Coach [Tony] Alford quite a bit," Jackson said. "Notre Dame is very traditional, and I tend to watch them a lot of TV. Notre Dame was first recruiting me as a tight end, but now they are recruiting me as middle linebacker, I believe. I know they want me to play linebacker. Schools aren't really recruiting me as tight end as much any more. Well, Oregon had three different position coaches contact me the other day."
Jackson says he's often listed as an outside linebacker, but he prefers middle linebacker, and hopes to project there in college.
"It depends on the team we play in high school, mostly," Jackson said. "But in college, I would prefer to play middle linebacker unless it's a 3-4 defense, and then I would like to play outside linebacker. I feel like in today's game, outside linebackers [in a 4-3] are more like bigger safeties that can rush the line."
With close to 30 offers, Jackson recalls that Notre Dame was one of the first schools to offer him a scholarship.
"Notre Dame was the second school to offer me behind USF," Jackson said. "I got offered by USF freshman year, and Notre Dame was the first school to offer me as a sophomore. I had them on my favorites, but then I got about 24 offers in a week and a half, and everything blew up."
This spring, Jackson has visited South Florida and Miami for junior days. He plans on visiting Alabama, Florida, and Florida State soon.
"I had a good time at Miami," Jackson said. "At this point, it will probably affect Florida's chances if they offer this late. I don't understand what's going on there. They said they weren't sure what position they wanted me to play, so they haven't offered. The old staff that was recruiting me is now mostly at Ohio State, and I am hearing from them, now. Florida State won't offer unless they see me in person again. I was supposed to go to their junior day, but something came up. Georgia said they were going offer soon, too."
Jackson's not set on decision date, and he'll likely take advantage of his official visits before deciding on a school.
"I would like to take at least some of my official visits before narrowing it down," Jackson said. "I want to at least visit a school before I commit there. I will first narrow my list to five or 10 this summer. We will see what happens after that."